November

Sierra's first trip on an airplane!

Taking a peek at some Mountains...

She loved pulling (or pushing) her suitcase by herself.

Sunny weather in Palm Springs makes some happy Oregonians!

Exercise

And then a nap.  When you are used to a crib - you need your

mommy for nap.  You hold on tight just to make sure she doesn't leave

when you fall asleep:)

Fun times in the pool with Daddy and Grandma

At the Living Desert Zoo watching an animal presentation

A crazy ride on this wild boar

Water+pink tutu swim suit+teeny tiny pony tail=pure cuteness

This is how she spent most of the ride home:)

Back home and going through a very artistic phase.  These are jelly fish.

Getting ready to watch the Corvallis Christmas Parade

A great spot way up on Daddy's shoulders.

Waiting to see the train float that daddy helped build (with her tiny Thomas in hand)

Smiley face drawing

And her doggie drawing complete with four legs, ears, and a tail!

We took Sierra on her very first vacation this month.  We really haven't traveled at all in the last two years, and Jesse and I were both a little terrified about the trip.  Luckily Palm Springs is only a two hour flight and we made sure that we booked a direct flight.  My mom and dad had booked a week at a condo there, and after months of being nervous about actually booking the tickets, we did it.  The flight times were good (all mid morning to mid day) and we hoped for the best.  The best is what we got.  Sierra did amazingly well.  For a child that had really never had an overnight vacation trip (except for a few when she was a tiny infant), she did beyond amazing. 

She stayed awake for the whole flight to Palm Springs.  She did great during takeoff, mostly just reading her Winnie the Pooh Book.  During the flight we were paranoid about her having to go potty so Jess tried taking her about 6 times, but the potty was not normal to her and she refused to go.  We made it without any incidents though.  The descent was what caused a little bit of a problem.  We warned Sierra that her ears might start to pop and that she needed to chew on some fruit snacks we brought solely for that purpose.  But she refused to eat once her ears started hurting and did cry for about 5 minutes.  Luckily the flight attendants were great and didn't make her sit in her own seat.  They let me hold her and comfort her and she got over her fuss pretty quickly.

When we landed in Palm Springs my Grandma and John were there waiting for us.  They had driven down and were staying at a 1000 Trails Park not far from our condo.  Sierra was very excited to see GG!  After Sierra passed out on the way to the condo and took her nap, daddy and Grandma took her down for her first swim in the resort pool.  She loved the water and usually went swimming at least once a day.  This trip sure was different than the trips Jess and I used to take.  We used to spend most of the day driving around exploring, shopping, eating.  But with a two year old in tow, we mostly stayed at the resort.  Generally at naptime we took Sierra for a little drive so she would fall asleep.  Bedtime was tougher.  She is used to her crib, to her home, and even though we tried to replicate our nighttime routine, she was out of her element.  It took about an hour to get her to go to sleep the first couple of nights.  She cried that she wanted to go home and wanted her bed.  But as the week went on things got a little easier.  She did wake up at 5am every morning though which isn't too much different than from at home.  My mom and dad had a huge room with a small room attached that we put a hide-a-bed mattress on the floor, so when she woke up at 5, it was Grandma and Grandpa that got to keep her occupied:)  All in all, she did amazing on the vacation, but we were all really really glad to come home.  We were sad to leave the 70 degree weather though.  We came home to freezing cold rain.

Sierra did a lot of drawing while we were on vacation and she came home with a passion for coloring.  We generally spend at least an hour a day drawing.  We use cardboard, the chalkboard, and I have a few giant art pads on the kitchen table with felt pens.  She can draw circles really well.  She generally draws a few circles and says, "Mommy, what's this?"  So I make something up, "Well that looks like a whale," as I add a tail and a spout, or "That must be an apple," as I add a stem and leaf.  Gradually she has gotten to where she adds things on her own and you can see by the doggie picture above that she has gotten quite creative and is learning to control her movements more and more. 

Our little boy continues to grow and grow.  I had about two weeks of feeling the best I had during the whole pregnancy and then Sierra and I both caught a cold.  Hers was quick, lasting only about 4 or 5 days.  Mine unfortunately ended with a nasty cough that refuses to go away.  I do not know how women go through pregnancy feeling normal.  My body won't allow it.  When someone tells me that they felt great throughout their pregnancy I sort of want to strike them.  This sick, crazy, pregnant lady feels absolutely NOTHING like herself.  Here's to hoping that trimester 3 is nice to me.....